How to promote innovation for social change? Talk less about innovation.
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We made a surprising discovery recently: The less we talk about innovation, the easier it is to promote.
Why is this?
Innovation is a goal — and one that may or may not be achieved. Innovation is often seen as something pursued by an “Innovation Team” (with a capital I and a capital T). Innovation is elusive. It is an ideal outcome, and never guaranteed in advance.
But experimentation, everyone can do that. Rapid prototyping, everyone can do it. What is required: An opportunity, some encouragement, a dash of know-how, a pinch of courage.
In this essay, we will share three key actions we have taken to promote innovation for social change and child rights in the West and Central Africa region. We conclude with two insights from what we have learned during this process, which is still ongoing. In between, we share the story of a group of pioneering rapid prototypers in Liberia. Their actions and experimentation-friendly mindset taught us the true power of “learning by doing.”
Three actions: Over the span of one year, our Social and Behaviour Change team collaborated with more than fifteen country offices in the West and Central Africa region on the following:
- A six-month “Experiment to Innovate” learning journey, with online sessions, guest speakers, practical exercises and a gamified* system for certificates (*Gamified: Points for exercises, with more effort/action leading to increases in levels). An overview of the learning journey and session slides are here, for those wanting to explore;
- A series of micro-grants and non-financial awards for rapid prototyping (The non-financial version worked better and was less complex to manage. Both opportunities included coaching and recognition certificates.);
- Monthly “Designing for Action” exchange calls, where Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) teams could share their prototyping experiences and challenges with other countries in the region.
Below we share some images from exchange calls and “Experiment to Innovate” capacity sharing sessions.
The three actions described above were designed to promote mindsets and skillsets that facilitate experimentation, including the adaption and use of human-centered design tools and methods. We wanted to bring innovation into social change and bring social change into innovation. In the process, a network of Social and Behaviour Change “prototyping pioneers” emerged, driven by the spirit of risk-taking and learning by doing.
Let’s meet a few of these pioneers.
Background: In fifteen districts across Liberia, several United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) received micro-grants to try out a new approach to measurement, called the “Net Promoter Score” (NPS). We like the overviews provided by Zapier and by Bain & Company, which describe how a one question survey can help determine if clients would promote a service. The question: “Would you recommend this service to others?”
- Jestina in Gbarpolu County Liberia said she found Net Promoter Score (NPS) a good way to “focus on changing the environment and not the person.”
- Darius in Sinoe County recorded the responses of those who would not recommend the clinic they had just exited. Two reasons recorded: 1) “there is limited medicine here” and 2) “the staff is always on Facebook.”
- Alex in Grand Kru County found that more than half of the 13 respondents would recommend their local health center to their friends and family. Among the people not recommending the clinic, two stated “lack of medications” as reasons.
The rapid prototyping of the Net Promoter Score method for measurement in Liberia taught us that colleagues were ready and willing to get “quick data” and they were scrappy about how they collected it and how they shared it with colleagues in the main UNICEF Liberia office in Monrovia.
Many of the rapid prototyping experiences lasted less than one day. Our “Experiment to Innovate” learning journey was one session per month for six months. The monthly “Designing for Action” calls helped colleagues learn across experiences and countries. Some key results of one year of “experimenting with experimentation” are 1) a lot of learning; 2) evidence of a willingness of country office colleagues to try new things; and 3) a demystification and democratization of innovation in our region.
We conclude this essay by sharing two final insights we have gained in the past year (2023) with our efforts to promote experimentation and innovation in the West and Central Africa region.
- Definitions matter: The working definition of innovation we have adopted provides a door that is large enough for many to pass through and succeed: “Innovation is something different that creates value.” (Anthony, et al.(2020), Eat, Sleep, Innovate ,p. 26.). We recognize here that innovation is not always related to technology, nor even necessarily something radically new (despite the “novo” in the word innovation). In the West and Central Africa context, the goal has been for us to demystify and democratize innovation, with a particular focus on rapid prototyping and other experimentation methods. By going beyond technology, and allowing for small changes, something “different” that makes a difference, we create more opportunities for experimentation and, eventually (if we’re lucky and persisent) for innovation.
- Mindset is as important as skill set. It’s possible that mindset is MORE important than skill set. If you are not ready to embrace experimentation and failure essential for rapid learning it won’t matter if you are highly-trained in design and innovation. For those of us working within the United Nations system, promoting experimentation and “the courage to fail” has not been easy, nor entirely successful. But our efforts have been somewhat successful, and we know this because we have supported dozens of colleagues through the prototyping micro-grants and more than a year of coaching sessions.
We continue to experiment with new ways to foster innovation for social change and child rights. We are looking forward to learning and collaborating with our intrepid colleagues who somehow find the time to try new things and share the lessons and results with us.
Next up for us: A new cohort of the “Experiment to Innovate” learning journey will start in July 2024. We will also launch a new round of rapid prototyping awards and a few other exchange opportunities related to Human Centered Design, with a focus on experimentation. No micro-grant funds will be awarded this year, as we learned a lesson from the micro-bureaucratic situations we had created in 2023. (The lesson from this light failure has wound up saving us money — a bonus!)
This essay is a collaboration between two team members of the UNICEF Social and Behaviour Change team in the West and Central Africa Regional Office: Noel Balume (lead writer, Social and Behaviour Change/Innovation specialist) and K. Greiner (contributor).
We are grateful to the colleagues in the UNICEF Liberia office: Musu, Amanda, Darius, Varsay, Joseph, Elijah, Fester, Helena, Jestina, Jeremiah V., Jeremiah M., Rotis, and Alex.
We welcome any suggestions you have related to this essay (Feel free to comment here, or you can give inputs in our online “suggestion basket.” Our motto: Always. Be. Learning (ABL).
